Siemens document “SICAM HV-Digitale Leistungs-schaltersteuerung” (Digital Breaker Control DBC), Order No. E5001_U113-A230/1 has disclosed an arrangement for controlling and monitoring a switchgear assembly, of which one of a plurality of switch panels is illustrated. On an uppermost hierarchical plane, the arrangement has a local control system which is formed by a station control computation device. Via a so-called field bus, there is a communications link between the station control computation device and a process control device and a protective device; the two latter devices form a central plane in the hierarchy. The two devices need to satisfy the environmental conditions in the switchgear assembly and also conditions for EMC (electromagnetic compatibility). The known arrangement also has a dedicated process bus for the switch panel shown, and, via this process bus, the process control device is linked to apparatuses for digitally controlling switches, the switches being isolating/grounding switches and a power breaker. In addition, the process control device is linked, via the process bus, to transformer electronics having digital outputs, which are usually arranged outside in the switch panel in the vicinity of the switches. The protective device in the known arrangement is connected on the input side directly to the transformer electronics and is linked on the output side to the apparatus for digitally controlling the power breaker.